They had already made concessions last time.
Those smaller sects had only sent over a dozen disciples as a gesture. The majority of disciples guarding the encirclement were from these first-rate and second-rate forces.
Having made concessions last time, there was no way they would do so again.
Huang Yong looked at Chen Shanhe, a smile on his face, and asked, "Brother Chen, are you planning to make concessions again this time?"
Chen Shanhe let out a displeased snort, "What are you saying? Our learning of spells is for subduing demons and eliminating evil. The number of disciples sent by the smaller sects will be the same number sent by my Chen family."
Chen Shanhe's statement, while seemingly innocuous at first glance, was actually quite profound.
These smaller sects could not dispatch many disciples in the first place.
This meant that if the smaller sects sent ten disciples, the Chen family would also only send ten.
Huang Yong looked at Chen Shanhe and smiled faintly, "Heh, Brother Chen is truly a chivalrous person."
Chen Shanhe's words were a nominal concession, but in reality, he was yielding not an inch.
If nothing else, how many disciples could those smaller sects send?
Ten?
Or twenty?
Of course, there were those who considered the welfare of the common people.
For instance, established first-rate forces like the Array Sect and the Treasure Town Sect.
However, none of them dared to take the lead, as this would offend the first-rate forces unwilling to send disciples.
This was no trifling matter.
Li Shaohun looked at the crowd below and continued, "However, with internal and external troubles, preserving our lives is the most crucial. You must focus on defending against the sneak attacks of the Divine Demon Sect."
Upon hearing this, the representatives of the smaller sects were filled with excitement.
As long as they didn't have to send disciples, everything else was negotiable. They all thanked Li Shaohun profusely.
"Thank you, Heavenly Master Li."
"Thank you, Heavenly Master Li."
"..."
Yu Daohun looked at the three major sects and Nan Jingshuo on the stage, his heart filled with emotion.
Nan Jingshuo played the bad cop, Li Shaohun played the good cop, and with Ma Shaogang adding to the atmosphere.
Although Master Ni Cang of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple had not spoken a word from beginning to end, the pressure emanating from his eyes was no less than that of Ma Shaogang.
These four individuals had been in cahoots from the very beginning.
If his guess was correct, the next act was for these first-rate and second-rate sects.
As expected, Li Shaohun's first sentence went straight to the point.
"Everyone, I know you don't want to send disciples, but if you don't reseal those evil spirits again, you should be aware of the consequences."
Hearing this, Huang Yong's expression immediately soured, "Heavenly Master Li, what do you mean by that?"
Li Shaohun smiled faintly, his face showing a kind and amiable expression, "It's very simple. I want your second-rate and first-rate sects to send disciples."
As soon as these words were spoken, the second-rate and first-rate sects present became instantly uneasy.
What did this mean?
If the third-rate smaller sects weren't sending disciples, why should they?
The second-rate sects remained silent, none willing to be the first to speak.
When even the leaders of the first-rate forces remained silent, they, the second-rate forces, were even less willing to be the first to speak.
Huang Yong and Chen Shanhe, the sect leaders of these first-rate forces, were all silent.
Few of their sects were willing to send disciples.
But as long as one person stepped forward, it would surely rally support.
Huang Yong looked at Chen Shanhe beside him.
He and I were on the same side. As long as he said he wasn't willing, I would immediately follow suit.
Huang Yong looked at Chen Shanhe, who appeared to be completely detached from the situation.
Chen Shanhe understood that Huang Yong wanted to use him as the sacrificial lamb.
It was merely about sending disciples, and it wasn't as if only his Chen family was sending them.
Among everyone present, Huang Yong was probably the most unwilling to send disciples.
For a corpse necromancer, cultivating a good corpse required a great deal of effort and money.
Huang Yong clenched his fists. To be honest, he didn't want to offend the three major sects either.
Everyone present remained silent. It was a battle of who would break first.
After all, his Corpse Necromancer sect was not the only one unwilling to send disciples.
Seeing everyone's silence, Li Shaohun knew that to deal with these old foxes, he had to break them down one by one.
He would deal with the smaller ones first, then tackle these tough nuts.
Li Shaohun changed his strategy and looked at the second-rate sects, "Everyone, please state your position first."
Everyone present lowered their heads and remained silent. At this moment, no one was willing to speak first.
If they agreed, they would offend all the second-rate sects. If they refused, they would offend the three major sects.
Yu Daohun naturally did not want to be the first to speak. If it came to it, he would send disciples.
Later, he would discuss with Nan Jingshuo to see if the Blazing Fire Sect could send fewer disciples, or perhaps place the Blazing Fire Sect's disciples at the rear when entering the encirclement.
Seeing that no one answered, Li Shaohun smiled faintly, "Since no one is answering, I will ask one by one."
Upon hearing this, everyone became uneasy.
The first person called would surely become the object of everyone's resentment.
Yu Daohun felt a sense of dread as Li Shaohun looked at him.
Could it be that this old fellow was trying to set him up?
As expected, Li Shaohun slowly said, "Let's have Sect Leader Yu set an example."
Yu Daohun was instantly speechless. He cursed the old fellow countless times in his heart, but he still stood up, a smile on his face, "Since Heavenly Master Li thinks so highly of this junior, I will set an example."
The representatives and sect leaders of the surrounding second-rate sects all turned to look at him.
Yu Daohun ignored them, cleared his throat, and said, "I agree to send disciples."
This statement was like a bomb, instantly exploding in the crowd.
Everyone cast resentful glances at him, wishing they could beat Yu Daohun to death with sticks.
Yu Daohun knew that these people were all fair-weather friends, unwilling to send disciples but also unwilling to be the first to speak, always hoping for others to take the lead so they could benefit without lifting a finger.
To deal with such opportunists, one must not show them any respect, otherwise, they would always think they were someone important.
Yu Daohun looked at these resentful gazes and began to curse loudly.
"What, is there something on my face? Or do I have a grudge against you all?"
"If you have the guts, say you disagree yourself. Don't look at me like that. I'm not your vanguard; I'm just representing the Blazing Fire Sect, not all of you."
"If anyone wants to cause trouble for me, we can go out and have a one-on-one fight right now."
"If anyone dares to look at me like that again, I'll kill him on the spot!"
After speaking, Yu Daohun let out a roar, "Did you hear me!"
The roar echoed throughout the conference hall, and those people quickly withdrew their resentful gazes.